Miracle Grains / Siru Thaaniyangal

I have been wanting to design this page for a very long for the
simple reason I love village cooking. It is so simple yet delicious and
healthy. It is the nativity feel that this topic has that has pulled me
towards trying out dishes that has existed for so many generations among
our families.

I have always wondered about the health
status among urban and rural dwellers or to be more specific - the
health status of our ancestors [don't go too far, even our grandparents]
to ourselves.

I am sure you can notice a vast
difference from tiny everyday problems ranging from headaches to eye
problems to chronic illness, some are even life threatening like heart
disease to diabetes to high blood pressure. Even the average life
expectancy has been altered.

You can argue that medical
science has improved so much and people live for so many years more
than our ancestors. I don't disagree with that but their permanent
companion after a certain age are medications in various sizes and
colours.

Have we ever noticed our grandparents take so many medications???

So what is their secret... simple healthy eating...

There
is no processed foods, sugar laden cereals, ready made meals, polished
rice or excessive white sugars / flour / salt and they have immense
loads of physical work.

Millets are the key ingredients
in village cooking along with country vegetables cooked in a mild
sauce. Nobody skipped a meal but they had specific dishes for certain
times of the day taking into account the current season and
availability of ingredients.

Millets are known as "Small Grains" or "Siru Thaaniyangal"
in Tamil. Millets have been important food staples in human history
particularly in arid regions of Asia and Africa.They are small seeded
grasses and thrive well in dry arid climatic conditions. Evolutionary
origin points towards West Africa and has been cultivated for more than
10,000 years in East Asia.

India is one of the largest
producers of millets but mostly they are used as bird seed in the west.
In India, millets form the staple source of nutrition for the common man
who form the major section of Indian population.

The
advantages of cultivation of millets holds the key to successful farming
without harming the water content of the land or the financial capacity
of the farmer. Millet varieties can withstand dry and arid climatic
conditions without a losing its nutrients. The storage life span of
these grains are triple than rice and wheat as they are not easily
attacked by insects or pests.

So for a country like India
where the population is growing by the second , it would be a wise
decision to switch back to traditional farming methods and varieties
which would help is sustained growth of the farmer. This would help keep
agriculture as an occupation for nearly 75% of the population and
prevent immigration of the rural population to the cities in search of
jobs.

This would ultimately help in increasing the growth sector
helping the economy of India. Also the deep rooted traditional and
cultural connections between these grains, their consumption and
cultivation to our ancestoral history can be preserved and handed over
safely to the future generations.

There are quite a few varieties of millets which are quite popular and has been around for centuries....

Teff also falls under the millet family when it comes to commercial distribution and consumption of the grain.

The
varieties range from rotis to sweet porridge to steamed dumplings to
semisolid mash which is usually eaten along with lentil curry. Do not
under estimate the millet grains just because it does not have the
grandiose of the present counterparts [rice and wheat ].

They are bursting with nutrition , vitamins and minerals far more superior to rice and wheat.

Data: "Forgotten Foods -Navdanya".

It is time we take pride on our ancient agricultural practices
and grains that were once prevalent in our kitchens. As responsible
citizens we owe this to our nation and farmers...

Thank you very much Reva! I was very informative.I have switched to millets food and it has been more than 3 month,now I notice a significant difference in my health and my families health.In this culture they have looked at each and every aspect of life(including food) with such a depth unlike any other culture on this planet that can enhance this human life to its fullest potential.